Don’t Want to Lose Your Airline Miles? Fly Now

If you’ve got a bunch of airline miles or points you haven’t touched in a while, review your program’s policies and make sure they aren’t about to expire. Better yet, make a reservation with them and go somewhere.

Q: In 2013 I received a flyer from American Express Membership Rewards offering to open a Flying Blue (KLM & Air France) account and offering a 35 percent bonus of transferred points. So I transferred 100,000 Membership Rewards points and got 135,000 Flying Blue points. I got bimonthly emails confirming it until two months ago when my email showed I have 0 points. I called Flying Blue Customer Service and was told that after 20 months everything disappears. I was not aware of it. The original flyer, which I still have, didn't indicate it. Their emails never mentioned it. I am a retired person and it took me years to acquire 100,000 points. Can you help?—Dennis V., San Francisco, CA

A: Requests like this make for a difficult response. Someone has saved points or miles for a long time and probably wanted to use them at the most opportune moment, only to discover that the effort and anticipation was wasted. I don’t like being the one to give the final word. Unfortunately, I know almost immediately that the policies associated with the mileage plan allow the airline to cancel the miles. I always do a quick check to verify, and to find out if it’s a plan that allows members to reinstate expired miles, but most have removed that mechanism.

“For Ivory Members, Award Miles are valid for 20 months. Only accrual on flights of Air France, KLM, SkyTeam Partners or any other activity designed as extending in the FB Communication, is considered as an extending activity. The Company reserves the right to cancel the Award Miles after a period of 20 months with no extending activity registered on the Member’s account. It is up to the Member to check the expiration date of his Miles.”

In addition, the promotional material Dennis received states, “Once you have transferred Membership Rewards points, they become subject to the Terms and Conditions of the merchant program…”

Flying Blue does not offer a means to reinstate miles. With the terms spelled out that clearly, as Ombudsman, there’s really nothing I can do. I don’t like the policy or the circumstances, but on the other hand, it isn’t that difficult to keep the account current. Had Dennis flown with any SkyTeam partner, including a domestic flight on Delta that he attached to his Flying Blue account, he would have retained the miles for another 20 months.

Look, none of us like jumping through hoops. The first takeaway here, though, as I often point out, is that you will be better off if you read the policies associated with any travel purchase, reservation, or program. Second, figure out whether jumping through the hoops of a mileage program is worth it. As I discussed a few weeks ago, it might not be. And lastly, the right time to use your miles is now, whether it’s you who flies with them, or if you gift a ticket to a friend or family member. As mileage plans continue to evolve (degrade?), it’s best to take advantage of what you have before the benefits diminish or disappear.

Have a travel question you want answered? Email ombudsman@cntraveler.com, or tweet us @CNTraveler #dearombudsman.